Could My Mind Be Evil?
by Mighty Ancalagon the Black
Summary: Heather wonders if she's going insane. Johann helps her out.


Heather ducked behind a crumbled stone wall as the fireball mushroomed over her hooded head. She let loose a wordless battle cry as she charged the dragon trappers, swinging her double-ended axe. The battle blurred around her in a mass of broken shields and cages as she fought to reach her imprisoned dragon, Windshear.

Afterword, she stood back on a shelf of rock and surveyed the carnage. Shards of wood and metal littered the ground between the unconscious or dead trappers, and anything of value that remained undamaged was piled on the last surviving boat. She counted the bodies again, as though it would lower the number. Had there really been that many? Had she really done _all this_? Heather looked to Windshear for comfort, but Windshear was asleep. Heather sighed. That dragon was always _so_ helpful during an emotional crisis. Not.

She shook Windshear awake, figuring it wouldn't do to stick around until more dragon trappers showed up. As she cast off and raised the sails, she went over what she remembered of the battle, or rather, what she didn't. Heather jolted back to the present as Windshear nearly towed the boat into a seastack. She resolved to think the matter over later, and ran forward to ensure there was no damage.

The stars shone brightly on the sleeping girl and dragon. Suddenly, Heather sat up with a gasp, sweat-soaked and panting for breath. She remembered now. She remembered the entire battle. Heather decided it was worse to remember than to forget. So much worse. By the time she calmed down the sun was starting to rise. She tried to rationalize what she had done, but couldn't. By the time Windshear stirred, Heather had resolved to simply carry on, despite the fact that she was probably going insane. She had to carry on.

Heather packed her bags and headed for the next dragon trappers' outpost, a recruitment camp. She and Windshear landed in battle-ready positions, waited until the trappers charged at them, then flung themselves into battle. As before, the battle blurred around Heather as she fought her way to the cages. When her vision cleared, she was standing over a young dragon trapper, about her own age.

"P-please don't kill me!" he begged, shivering with fright.

"Better a dead enemy than one behind your back." Heather snarled, and swung her double-ended axe.

 _"Why did I do that?"_ Heather wondered as she sat on a cliff on the other end of the island, watching the clouds scudding across the sky. _"I must be going insane, I can't even control myself anymore!" s_ he thought, _"I have to do something , before I hurt someone else."_ With that thought in mind she flung herself off the cliff to the sharp rocks in the sea below. Her vision went black as she plummeted through the air. Windshear gave a distressed-sounding squawk and dove after her rider.

When Heather opened her eyes, she was on the deck of a ship, the familiar faces of Trader Johann and Windshear looking down at her.

"Ah, good, you're awake. Windshear has been quite worried." Johann said,"What happened exactly?"

"I think I'm going insane. I keep doing things I don't mean to do, and then forgetting things that just happened. So I tried to stop myself before I hurt anyone else." Heather explained as she sat up.

"I see." Trader Johann stroked his grey-streaked beard. "And when was the last time you slept properly, or had a decent meal?" he queried.

Heather hung her head, "Two weeks ago." She admitted.

"Aha! Well there's your problem. Not enough food or sleep can drive even the sternest viking completely over the edge. Why, this reminds me of the time I was marooned on the high seas, beset by a ferocious dragon..." Johann rambled on about his past adventures as he got out some food for Heather and a barrel of fish for Windshear. He continued to ramble, sitting with her to make sure she ate every bite. Johann insisted she stay with him for a few days, so he could make sure she was alright.

That night, as she fell asleep, she reflected on what had happened. Was her mind evil? Probably not. But the lesson to be learned here was that if you don't take care of yourself, you will do things you regret, and nearly kill yourself in the process.

And that was the end of all that.


End file.
